Another piece of the world economy showing weakness. While everyone is looking at Greece the stock market in China is crashing. The Russian economy is suffering from the sanctions over the Ukraine. Italy, Spain are teetering on the edge with their own debt problems. Puerto Rico is angling for permission to declare Chapter 9 bankruptcy, and Puerto Ricans are leaving the island in droves. Which will continue to weaken the island’s economy.

It sure looks like the Global house of cards is getting ready to come crashing down. But our Main Stream Media assures us that the US stock market is booming right along. Can you say disconnected from reality.

Yes I to think that many countries are going to collapse or slow down to the point were they will speed up the collapse of other countries. China is one that will find it self collapsing because the rest of the world will not be buying from them.

Economical world collapse will be very big when it happens. This will not be like what we see right now in Greece or what we saw in Argentina. This will be a total collapse of all world economies.

Meanwhile, watch gold (and silver). They’re at very long term lows (well over 5 years). So all this talk of disaster lurking, is just crazy. Gold would be moving massively north if there was a real crisis.

Right? C’mon, guys. Isn’t that true? Really?

As mentioned in a post about the Wednesday events (NYSE, United, WSJ), along with the 1929-level crash of the Chinese market, gold is just languishing along at the bottom of a stagnant pond. You’d think nothing at all is wrong in the world.

Then there comes a point where it hits a price that people are no longer willing to pay for ………….gold is still too high . It hits a point where the cost level actually scares away investment , because unless it holds steady , or grows is a bad investment , its too high a risk at that point .

Thank you Rosland capital.
People have seen too many gold as an investment commercials to really buy it.
Much like the ambulance chasing lawyers, you see their garish commercials and younwant to go anywhere else.

Besides, at $1000+ an ounce, who has that kind of spare cash just sitting around?

And here’s the kicker, around here, there’s only one place that you could exchange that gold, and our local pawn shop owner isn’t going to give market value for it.
Ubless you can buy low, you’re stuck with some pretty coins or are going to lose money.

Besides, at $1000+ an ounce, who has that kind of spare cash just sitting around?

And here’s the kicker, around here, there’s only one place that you could exchange that gold, and our local pawn shop owner isn’t going to give market value for it.
Ubless you can buy low, you’re stuck with some pretty coins or are going to lose money.

My post was not about whether individuals should be buying gold or silver as “investments” (though I think that’s worthy of some – separate – discussion). It is about the simple fact that gold has, in recent world history (more than just 5-10 years) been a sort of barometer for feelings of safety. When 9/11 happened, gold shot up. When other events happened, gold shot up. When crises abated, gold went back down. It’s “always” been that way. Until very recently. My point was that while major events were happening yesterday – regardless of whether they were “nefarious” or not (thank you Jeh Johnson for reminding us of a word that many don’t even know) – gold just plugged along, seeming to echo the “nothing to see here, move along” messages we get almost daily. Gold should have shot up – but didn’t. Compared to history, gold should be much higher today than it is. But it isn’t.

If gold no longer matters, then why is Germany (and others) squeezing the U.S., telling us they want their gold back? Why would they want to repatriate their gold, if two prevailing messages are true? Those two prevailing “truths” are, (1) gold isn’t really relevant anymore, and is therefore not worth all that much, and (2) the U.S. is a perfectly safe place to store many countries’ gold holdings. And another particularly odd question arises, for which I have not seen an answer that makes sense, to me at least: why is it taking a period of years for the U.S. to repatriate Germany’s gold? Either we’ve got it and we just give it back to them when they stop paying whatever storage fees they pay (as if it was that simple), or something else is going on behind the false scenery. If Germany wants their gold back, why can’t they get it in a matter of days or weeks, after it’s re-inventoried, accounted for, all paperwork accomplished to protect both sides, transported to airports or shipyards, and returned back to Germany?

Russia and especially China are large buyers of gold. In fact, a number of nations are accumulating (and repatriating their) gold. So there’s a disconnect here – why would we be discouraged from buying gold and silver by our government (China is doing exactly the opposite with their general population), when whole nations (ruled by politicians) consider it important to own in very large quantities? And why would it barely fluctuate when major events are happening around the world that should instill fear in almost anyone watching those situations? Stock markets fluctuate markedly on news, why not gold, particularly when the news has potential global significance? Again, nothing to see here, move along. Go back to your video games, tweets, sports, or watch enjoy the meaningless preliminary bouts leading up to Hillary being crowned next November. That’s the message. Oh – and pay your increasing taxes so we can provide unlimited benefits to illegals crossing our boarders who are not required to prove citizenship in order to vote for their protectors in Washington (another of the blockbusting SCOTUS rulings from a week ago, but one which most people missed).

So whether no one except a local pawn broker is currently making a market in gold/silver coins, is of no significance right now. If a market develops as it has many times before, someone is going to step in and sell into that market – while the selling is good. Buy low, sell high, and if the little individual customers get stuck, that’s their problem – it’s just business, or so the saying goes. Within easy driving distance of me, there used to be at least three places (probably more) to buy/sell gold and silver coins. To my knowledge, there is exactly one now – and it’s an all-purpose coin shop, not a bullion dealer. Rosland Capital (and their ilk) are trying to scare up a new market (it’s “just business” after all), but the general “investment” advice is to leave precious metals alone. Why would people that consider lead to be classified as one of the precious metals, be less inclined to see the eventual potential for hard assets (besides just toilet paper and cigarettes)?

I well remember not too many years ago being able to buy a gallon of gasoline for a dime nearby — just as long as that dime had a date of 1964 or earlier, i.e. no copper sandwich coins. SOMEbody thought it was worth owning – just like almost all nations, including 3rd world nations. So why would gold not move appreciably yesterday is still a legitimate question. What anybody does with their own savings and investments is a separate, albeit related, issue.

One last question to ponder: The $US is absurdly high – there’s no justification for it. We don’t produce steel, or much of anything else of substance. Cars may be manufactured here, but who owns the factories? Certainly not the U.S. Why is it that high? Simple: other countries’ currencies are worse off than ours (overly simplified, but not entirely inaccurate). So – what happens when the $US comes off it’s absurdly high perch? Where does “money” go then? Certainly no other nation warrants massive investment dollars by any sane person believing they’ll get a decent return on their investment. Historically, there is only one place that people keep coming back to when the SHTF. If it’s not still that same commodity, then what is in place to replace it “next time?”

For an excellent discussion and analysis of this question, see the current public ShadowStats article at:

Note the gold vs. DJIA chart on page 22, and the following commentary at the bottom of that same page and the top of page 23, just as examples:

Central bank (very specifically the Federal Reserve) and Wall Street efforts, including popular financial media hype of the last several years clearly have been aimed at killing investment in the precious metals, and pushing investors increasingly into an otherwise unstable stock-market that sure looks like one of the most extraordinary, speculative bubbles of all time. While Fed Chair Janet Yellen may be trying to follow predecessorFed chairmen in trying to contain their respective forest fires, these shenanigans will not save the markets or the economy, but rather, eventually, will help to fuel an extraordinary financial-market and financial-system conflagration, imploding the system, the stock market (at least in real terms) and the bond market.

GS

[Question: I had to edit the above post because the word “s-u-c-k-e-r-s” got asterisked out of the text. Is the forum software THAT picky? I have never perceived that word to be offensive, but maybe I’ve had my head in the sand for the better part of seven decades – ALWAYS a possibility. ]

GS,
My guess about gold prices is that the US economy and the dollar aren’t showing enough weakness to drive the price up, ..yet. Fat, dumb, and happy are still rolling down the road like nothing is going on. Plus everything is manipulated to keep the shine on.